Sunday, July 6, 2003

This NYT article raises some interesting questions about how mobile and wireless devices might be causing us "psuedo-ADD"...

"THIS is Charles Lax's brain on speed. Mr. Lax, a 44-year-old venture capitalist, is sitting in a conference for telecommunications executives at a hotel near Los Angeles, but he is not all here. Out of one ear, he listens to a live presentation about cable television technology; simultaneously, he surfs the Net on a laptop with a wireless connection, while occasionally checking his mobile device — part phone, part pager and part Internet gadget — for e-mail. Mr. Lax flew from Boston and paid $2,000 to attend the conference, called Vortex. But he cannot unwire himself long enough to give the presenters his complete focus. If he did, he would face a fate worse than lack of productivity: he would become bored."

I have to admit -- I myself have used Wi-Fi during long meetings. But, in my opinion, that's often because the presenter isn't being efficient or holding my attention. Very often, I've been stuck in presentations where the presenter is reading his own slides. I can do that too, thank you very much.

On the other hand, I've noticed that I've played with my Pocket PC in presentations where I'd look up and have to "catch up" to what the speaker is saying.

What do you think? Have you used your Pocket PC in meetings or presentations? With Wi-Fi? And how did it turn out?